L

lectures — Capitalize and place in quotes lecture series and individual lectures within the series.

The “Shirley Coastley Distinguished Lecture Series” began last month. Its first lecture, “Be Your Own Boss,” was a tremendous success.

legislature — Capitalize when preceded by the names of a state: the Texas Legislature. Retain capitalization when the state’s name is dropped. Lowercase legislature when used generically or in plural references.

library, libraries — UH’s main library is the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library. UH also has branch libraries: the John M. O’Quinn Law Library, the William B. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library, the College of Pharmacy Library, the Music Library, the Hilton college library, now named the Massad Family Library and Archives, and the Weston A. Petty Optometry Library. When referring to all of these libraries as one unit, use the word “libraries.” When referring to the M.D. Anderson Library (the word “Memorial” is often dropped), use the full name or just “library.” When referring to the branch libraries, unless you choose the full name, it’s “law library” or “optometry library,” etc., with lowercase names. The only exception would be capitalizing “Music Library” because that is the official name.

long term, long-term — He accepted the position for the long term.

She signed a long-term contract.

long time, longtime — The audience has been waiting a long time. The university and the community are longtime partners.

-ly — Do not use a hyphen before words ending in “–ly” and adjectives they modify.